We were one hundred miles from home on Interstate 75, when I hollered to Roger from the driver’s seat, “Did you remember your hat?” I couldn’t recall packing it in the van. He immediately ended his telephone conversation with his mother and I took the first exit. I was ready to drive back home, but Roger was sure we could get one in Chicago, our next concert stop.
Arriving in the Southside of Chicago after 5pm made it too late to go into the city to find a hat store. At that point, the warm summer air helped us make the decision for Roger to go hatless at the Beverly Center concert. The concert was wonderful and it was the first venue where “CCD” was sold, but I really missed seeing Roger walk out on stage with his feathered fedora slightly cocked on his head. We had to get a hat!
Early the next morning, we were standing at the door of the Hats Plus store on Irving Park Road. The inventory in the store is amazing. I wanted to try on all the hats, but Roger knew exactly what he wanted and the salesman knew exactly where to find it. Within minutes we were walking out with a black fedora, a summer hat I insisted on and a really sturdy hat box. We were ready for the 175 mile drive to Green Lake, WI for a concert in the evening at the Thrasher opera House.
I do enjoy hearing the stories folks tell me at my “lemonade stand” aka the merchandise table. There were two particular stories in Green Lake that I fondly remember.
A very happy lady told me how reading this BLOG inspired her and her husband to take the weekend off and travel like Roger and Camilla. They were loving their adventure and were thrilled to have it topped off with a Roger McGuinn concert.
After the concert another lady approached me with a touch of desperation in her voice. Her husband told her that he had to have a hat like Roger’s. I was so excited to be able to tell her where to go in Chicago for that exact hat! Forgetting to pack the hat was no longer a major “oops.” Having an easy answer to her question made the hatless concert all worthwhile.
We were smiling during the drive home on the back roads of the pristine Wisconsin countryside.
When we got home, we didn’t take the hat from the van because we had just a few days before a drive to the Folly Theater in Kansas City, Missouri.
The route we chose to Kansas City was through Alabama instead of Interstate 75 through Nashville. Once we reached Missouri, the devastation of tornados made us feel like we were driving through a war zone. The pictures in the press just didn’t capture the extent of the horror that a tornado leaves behind. I will never hear the word tornado again without a shudder going through my bones.
We stayed in a very picturesque part of Kansas City. Sometimes, Courtyards are situated just in the right places. Our hotel choice is always predicated on the parking situation since our van needs an 8 foot vertical clearance. Everything we needed was in walking distance including a wonderful day of show meal at Fogo de Chao . It is a Brazilian steakhouse and since our concert year was going to end in South America, it seemed very fitting.
Tomorrow, I'll write about the drive west in July 2011.
